Last time Bill and David headed off into the valleys to collect the children, but only found Dapple.

Chapter 7

The things that concerned him in the note were that Philip had been marched off by force, as well as the fact they had seen a helicopter apparently land on the top of the mountain. Why would there be a helicopter in these mountains? It didn’t make sense.

He forced himself to slow down and read the letter for a third time, though it did not yield any more useful information, other than physical descriptions of the two men. Ape-like and hawk-faced. Well, that was something to go on.

He turned to David who was watching him anxiously, and told him what had happened in a few simple words. “Those wolves you saw were Alsatian dogs,” he added.

David looked confused. “Wolves, yes,” he said after a minute and bared his teeth and growled as if to prove to Bill they had been scary.

“Not wolves, dogs,” Bill said half-heartedly, not really interested in arguing the point. He was looking at the mountain that Jack had described in his note. The mountain which Philip had entered under duress, the rest of the children had apparently followed him into, and upon which a helicopter had landed. He was glad he had brought his revolver along after all.

“First things first,” he muttered to himself. “See what’s in that mountain.”

David seemed to understand his intentions and pulled on his arm, “No, no! Bad place!”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” he replied. “The children, or at least, Philip, is in there. I need to go and take a look so I know what I’m dealing with. I’m not asking you to come.”

David looked a little concerned. “I stay, donkeys?” he asked, clearly very afraid.

“Yes. You stay with the donkeys,” Bill said. Normally he would welcome back-up but he didn’t think David would be of much help in this situation. He left his rucksack with David, tucking his gun into the back of his trousers and keeping a torch in his hand. He walked slowly from the clearing they were in, picking out the easiest route towards the sheer rocky bottom of the mountain.

“I don’t suppose saying open sesame will work,” he said to himself as he stood looking up at the mountain from deep in its shadow.

Jack had given the best description he could, but one sheer rocky wall looked very much like another sheer rocky wall, and Bill spend quite a time scrambling around the mountainside looking for some sort of cave or hole into which two men, one boy, one young goat and ten large dogs could vanish.

He found the secret quite by accident when his foot slipped on a loose rock. He reached out to grab some of the tangled creepers and brambles that trailed down the rocks just there, and they swung out as he applied his weight. He righted himself and looked at the vines he held in his hand, giving them an experimental tug. The whole lot moved. He found the far edge and pulled that away from the rocks to reveal a tall crack in the rock. “Oh-ho,” he said quietly to himself.

Taking out his pocket torch he edged into the tunnel that had been revealed. He wondered how far into the mountain this went and how far the children may have made it before either being caught or being forced to stop. He went slowly, wishing he didn’t have to use his torch as that was a sure way for him to get discovered very quickly.

The light reflecting off the body of water that almost filled the cave warned him to stop before he fell in. Not sensing anyone else in the vicinity he flashed his torch around quickly, and then more slowly. The cave seemed to have no top, the roof so high his torch couldn’t pick it out. He turned his attention to the walls, examining them for any holes, levers, buttons, niches, anything that would reveal a way out, and found nothing. Round he went again, and a third time, starting to feel as if he was in some sort of queer dream. At last he had to admit defeat. The walls were solid, there was no way through or up them. He shone his torch up again. Perhaps a rope or platform was lowered down from above to let people in. Or perhaps the men had simply hidden Philip in this cave until dark, and had smuggled him out in the night. If the other children had gone looking for Philip, had they found this cave? If so, where were they? And if not, the same question applied – where on earth were they?

He had a lot of questions and not a single answer.

Dejected and annoyed by his lack of success, Bill headed back to David. He directed the man to head back down the mountain. He mounted his own donkey and followed, all the time formulating a plan.

Allie, bless her, she had so much faith in him. When the donkeys carried them into the farmyard just three days after they’d left, she rushed out, all smiles, obviously expecting to see the four children accompanying he and David. He felt an ache in his heart, as well as a deep shame, as her face fell.

“Allie…” he began, dismounting his donkey clumsily in his haste.

“Bill, where are they? What’s happened?” Allie asked, trying to keep the resentment out of her voice.

“Let’s go inside and we can sit down,” he said.

“I don’t want to go and sit down, I want you to tell me why you’ve come back without the children,” she said, only the slightest wobble in her voice.

“It’s going to be all right,” he said first, and then, he told her everything he knew. The note from Jack, and his exploration of the mountain cave.

Allie was trying not to flap but she expressed her panic to Bill when he had finished his story. “But how are you going to rescue them Bill?” she said, worriedly. “Are you going to call in your friends?”

“I’m going to find out what I can about that helicopter,” he told her, holding her good hand in his. “I can’t find my way into the mountain from the bottom… but maybe I can get in from the top.”

To be continued…

Last time David made his excuses as to why he abandoned the children in the Welsh valleys, and needless to say Bill and Allie were not impressed.

Chapter 6

Bill went to David and Effans and told them of his plan to take David and the donkeys back up the mountain to find the children, and when David had eventually agreed, Bill went upstairs to re-pack his rucksack. As he went through his suitcase his hand touched his service revolver and he wondered if he should take it with him. The children were known to get into scrapes and maybe his weapon would be handy, there was also the man David claimed to have seen which had sent him scurrying down the mountain without the children.

In the end he decided to take it, if he did and didn’t use it then there was no problem. If he didn’t take it and they ran into bother, then he’d regret not having the back-up of the small metal object. He would just be careful to pack it so that Allie didn’t see it. If she knew he was taking a gun it would only worry her unnecessarily. He wouldn’t need much else; Mrs Evans would pack the donkeys’ panniers with food, Effans was supplying another tent, so all he needed was a couple of spare items of clothing and his toothbrush, really.

“How long do you think you might be gone?” Allie asked anxiously when he came down into their sitting room after packing. “How long do you think it will take you to find the children?”

“Well,” Bill said thoughtfully. “It took David a little over a day to get back here, so I expect it will take us a bit longer to get back, maybe two full days as we won’t be fleeing from danger and will want to stop properly overnight to rest. Then we’ll help the children pack up, and start back. So I’d say about four or five days, give or take.”

“I wish I could come with you,” Allie sighed. “This silly hand, why did it have to happen now?”

“Just bad luck,” he said. “There’s no use worrying, Allie. They’ll be camping out in the valleys, they’ve got plenty of food and they know that I’ll be coming to get them. In fact I expect they’ll be disappointed to have their trip cut short like this, but it can’t be helped. Once your hand’s recovered then we can all go for a trip later, we’ve got plenty of holiday left, still.”

Allie sighed and crossed her arms and winced at the pain in her hand. “I wouldn’t worry so much if they weren’t so prone to falling into trouble!”

“Still, it doesn’t do anyone any good to worry too much. Just sit back and enjoy the peace for a few days – you’ll soon be wishing them lost again!”

With the donkeys rested overnight and the map placed carefully in Bill’s rucksack, he and David set off after a hearty breakfast. There wasn’t much conversation to be had with David as he spoke very little English, but now and again Bill would enquire about something amongst the trees and hills and David would try to answer. They made camp that evening, David seemed to indicate that they weren’t too far from where he thought he’d left the children, but there was no point in carrying on in the gathering dark. With the high mountains shading them from the setting sun it grew dark earlier than it otherwise would.

A few hours before they stopped they had left the path they should have taken to the Valley of Butterflies. Bill, following the map, had wanted to carry on, but David had insisted that they hadn’t gone that way. He had tried to explain about the clouds, and at last Bill had come to understand that a fog had come across the valley and caused them to lose their way.

Bill’s heart had sank a little at the realisation that there had been a fog, that meant the children might not be so easy to find after all. He really wished he hadn’t have played the gallant boyfriend to Allie, but had stuck to the original plan and gone with the children. At least then he would know where they were.

Once they had eaten, Bill took out their map and began to mark down the way they had come, to track their way home, and to see how far off route David had brought the children.

David had been reasonably easy-going on the ride back, it had seemed to Bill. He was ashamed of his foolishness at running away, and clearly wished to make amends, and yet the next morning as the headed off again David suddenly seemed reticent. He tried to give Bill directions, pointing with his arms as if Bill was to go collect the children alone, but Bill wasn’t having it.

“Look, if you’re scared of someone, or something, then you’re best sticking with me, see,” he said slowly so that David could take in his meaning. “You don’t want to be out here alone, surely, if something untoward comes along!”

David thought for a moment and obviously decided that Bill was right as his donkey’s nose practically brushed the tail of Bill’s donkey for the rest of their ride.

Keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of life, Bill tried to ignore David riding so close behind him. Idly he wondered if he would soon have Kiki flying towards him, he really would have been overjoyed to have Kiki flutter down and screech in his ear. He’d even have been glad to be subjected to her express-engine-in-a-tunnel squawk.

But it wasn’t Kiki that they found, it was Dapple. The donkey was wading in some shallow water, tied to a long bit of rope. Bill pulled his donkey up and dismounted, leaving David to keep an eye on it. If the missing donkey was here then the children couldn’t be far off.

Dapple was pleased to see Bill and came over, nuzzling at him as if looking for a treat. “I haven’t got anything for you,” Bill said, patting her head. “Now, where are the children?” he asked Dapple. “I don’t suppose you can tell me.”

Then he spotted the piece of paper wedged in Dapple’s harness and plucked it out. He smiled, glad the children were considerate enough to consider that if they’d gone for a walk that he might turn up and worry. His smile soon faded, however, as a few key words jumped out at him.

He turned away from Dapple who returned to nibbling at the long grass that grew along the banks of the stream and sat on a rock to read the note properly.

The story continues in chapter 7

Last time Bill and Allie made a trip to the hospital to check on her hand, and David returned with the donkeys but no children…

(As a side note, it is in this chapter we first mention Sam, the Black paratrooper. Much of the language used to describe him in the book isn’t acceptable today and so I have tried my best to make sensitive updates without losing anything of the original story. Feedback, as always, is appreciated.)

Chapter 5

David turned to her, eyes wide, and stuttered over his words, his broken English and Welsh merging together. Mr Evans had to step in to explain, “David says that there were wolves on the mountain, so he took the donkeys free and came back down the trail.”

Everyone began talking at once, or rather shouting. Mrs Evans let loose a torrent of furious Welsh, making David cower. He tried to back behind one of the donkeys, but the donkey neatly sidestepped and left him without cover. Perhaps it was clever enough to know it didn’t want to attract the ire of the farmer’s wife. A cloud of flour rose in the air from Mrs Evans’ hand as she smacked David first on one arm and then on the other, still haranguing him. Suddenly the musical Welsh language didn’t sound so friendly and welcoming.

Mr Evans took his wife’s arm and carefully pulled her away, murmuring soothingly to her. He then spoke to David in Welsh before turning to Bill and Allie. “There have been no wolves in Wales for hundreds of years, he is mistaken, look you.”

“Wolves! Yes, wolves, howls in the night!” David insisted, nodding while keeping an eye on Mrs Evans and her floury hands. “And a face! In the tree!”

“It was probably one of the children in the tree, whateffer, playing a game,” Mrs Evans said scornfully.

“No,” David said firmly. “Black face.”

Mr Evans asked him something in Welsh, which David answered. “Yes, he says the face was a black one, very dark.”

Bill sighed deeply. “I suppose that he has never met a Black man, has he,” he said to Mr Evans.

Mr Evans shook his head emphatically. “No, nor have I, I have travelled to towns as much as fifty miles away, and I have never seen even one. Nor-”

Bill cut him off with an impatient gesture. “Never mind that. Likely some poor bloke has come here on his holidays with a couple of dogs, climbed a tree, and David’s made an utter fool of himself running back here.”

“Never mind about any of that,” Allie cut in. “What has happened to the children? Are they hurt, why aren’t they with you?” Bill put a hand on her good arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Now you listen to me,” he said sternly to David. “We entrusted you to guide four children on a nice trip to see some butterflies. And less than a week later you come rushing back pell-mell with a load of unladen donkeys, and a cock and bull story about wolves. If you’ve let those children come to harm, so help me…”

“They wouldn’t come,” babbled David in Welsh as Mr Evans translated. “He told them to mount the donkeys… but the donkeys came without them.”

Mr Evans looked uncomfortable but rallied, “They should still be where David left them, we can head back up and collect them.”

“David, you’ve lost a donkey too, you left with seven and now there’s only six,” Mrs Evans accused, her arms folded. David looked at her warily and then counted the donkeys himself and said something in Welsh.

“He isn’t sure if Dapple followed him,” Mr Evans translated. “She might be back with the children, or she got lost somewhere on the way back. The children have all the tents and food and things, though, so that’s something.”

“That’s something at least,” Bill muttered as Allie looked ready to burst. Philip and Dinah certainly got their tempers from their mother, no mistake. “Best get the donkeys and David fed, and then, I will accompany him back up the mountain for the children!”

David looked startled at the idea that he would have to go back, but then nodded resignedly. He said something to Mr Evans. “He managed the ride back in little more than a day, but he doesn’t recommend it. It will probably take two or perhaps three days to get to where the children are.” What he didn’t add was that he wasn’t sure David would be able to lead Bill straight to them, they had gotten a bit lost as it was, and then he had returned at such a speed.

“Let’s rest the donkeys, as they will need to do the return journey,” Bill said firmly. “I will return with David on the donkeys to make sure we find the children.”

“I shall start preparing more food,” Mrs Evans declared as Mr Evans and David led the donkeys towards the paddock where the two spare donkeys were. “You’ll need some for your journey, indeed to gootness, and the children will need plenty to eat when they get back after their fright!”

Allie just stood where she had stopped and looked aghast at Bill as the others went off. “Allie?” Bill said gently. “Darling, come inside and sit down, let me sort it out.”

“I wish I had insisted on you going with them,” she said with a sigh.

“I couldn’t have gone, you needed me to take you to the hospital,” Bill said firmly. “We weren’t to know that this would happen. The children will have behaved sensibly I’m sure. Jack and Philip will look after the girls and Lucy-Ann will make sure they’re fed, and Dinah will be telling Philip to stop adopting animals,” Bill joked lamely, trying to lighten the mood.

“I just don’t like the thought of them out there alone – again! What if one of them falls and injures themselves?”

“Then at least two of them will come down for help! They’re not daft, Allie!”

“They’ve only got one donkey between them,” she reminded him. “Or maybe not even one, David’s not sure if Dapple is even with them.”

“Maybe Kiki will fly down with a message like a carrier pigeon?” Bill said with a smile. He put his hands on Allie’s shoulders pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll go and look for them as soon as the donkeys are ready. I’ll go and find them. I promise I will bring them back in one piece.”

Bill spoke with absolute confidence – but if only he knew what was in store for him.

The story continues in chapter 6

Last time Allie injured her hand and Bill took her to the hospital.

Chapter 4

The next day, the four children were packed off with the donkeys and David while Bill and Allie waving from the farm gate. When they were out of sight, Bill put his arm around Allie’s shoulders and hugged her close, minding her hurt hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Absolutely fine,” she said firmly. “Remember what I said about no fussing?”

Pulling his arm away, while laughing, Bill said, “You did. So I should be mean to you, then?”

“There’s no need to go quite that far! You could just treat me as you normally do, rather than as some sort of invalid.”

“Yes Ma’am!” Bill says saluting and turning to lean on the gate.

Allie leant carefully on the gate too, using her good arm, and looking along the path that the children had disappeared down a few minutes ago. “They will be all right with David, won’t they?”

“Of course they will. Come on, let’s get you inside so you can start relaxing and enjoying the peace.”

The day passed quietly, Bill and Allie wandered around the farm, holding hands and talking. They had lunch and then just sat in the sunshine reading their books. Bill’s arm was resting over the back of Allie’s chair, a sign of affection that he hadn’t been able to show around the children.

“This is nice,” Allie commented after a long and comfortable silence, broken only by the bleating of the goats on the hillside nearby and the turning of their pages.

“Very nice indeed,” Bill agreed with a nod. “I could do with stretching my legs shortly however. What do you say?”

“You’re not very good at relaxing, are you Bill? You always need to be doing something or going somewhere,” Allie said, putting her book down. It was quite bothersome trying to read with only one hand to hold the book and turn the pages.

“I’m not,” Bill admitted. “I haven’t ever had anyone who could persuade me to relax and stay still long enough, Allie. I’m trying to learn!” he added with a fond smile at her.

“Well, maybe I can teach you, but I won’t hold my breath,” she said. “You’ve had far too long to pick up bad habits already.”

“Am I that bad?” Bill laughed.

“You’re quite bad,” she said, struggling to keep a straight face herself.

Bill grinned at her, as he lit his pipe. As he waved out the match he winked at her, “Well, you chose to come on holiday with me!”

“Yes, you’ve got me there,” she agreed, unable to think of any sort of argument against that logic. She changed the subject after another comfortable silence. “You don’t mind that we’re keeping things quiet from the children?” They had already discussed this briefly, but she wanted to check that his feelings hadn’t changed since spending so much time with the children this past week.

“No, I don’t mind,” Bill said honestly. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, I’m not ready for them to know. It puts too much pressure on us to make it work, I think. I don’t like being dishonest with them, though,” she admitted.

“We aren’t being dishonest,” Bill said knowledgeably. “Being dishonest would be denying anything was happening if they asked us.”

“We’re not being entirely honest either, though, are we?”

“Well no,” Bill agreed. “But we aren’t being entirely dishonest.”

Three days after her accident Bill took Allie back down to the hospital for her check-up. Thankfully they saw a different doctor, and Allie took care to introduce Bill as a ‘dear friend’ to avoid any misunderstandings. On their way back they stopped to enjoy the picnic Mrs Evans had packed them.

“It looks like there’s enough to feed ten of us,” Allie remarked as Bill unpacked the large hamper.

“Where are four hungry children when you need them?” laughed Bill as he put down the sandwiches and reached for some drinks.

“Off having a wonderful time, hopefully,” Allie replied. “There’s probably only just enough food here for them, mind you. They eat such a lot, especially the boys! I can barely keep up during the holidays.”

“Growing boys do eat a lot,” Bill agreed, remembering that Anatoly used to shovel food down in the work canteen when his father would bring him in during the school holidays.

“It seems that it doesn’t always stop when they are grown up,” she said, laughing as she watched Bill take an enormous bite of a thick cheese and tomato sandwich.

He grinned as he chewed, swallowed and said innocently, “It isn’t my fault I have a big bite!”

“Does that make your bite worse than your bark?”

Bill laughed loudly, “Maybe! You’d have to ask my work mates!”

“I didn’t know they were allowed to speak of things like that, I thought they’d be sworn to silence on all work-related matters. Not that I really ever see any of your colleagues! They do like to keep to themselves,” she said, thinking of the few occasions she had seen any of Bill’s fellow agents. They had always stayed in their car or had dragged Bill away for a private word after the briefest of acknowledgements to her. The only one she’d said more than two words to was the boy, Anatoly, and even he was tight-lipped.

“They aren’t really,” agreed Bill. “It seemed like a fairly normal thing to say! The boys would have just laughed.”

“Drat,” she murmured. “There goes my hopes of finding out all your secrets.”

“My boys wouldn’t tell you anyway,” Bill teased. “They think I’m the bees knees!”

Allie gave a somewhat unladylike snort and then covered her face with her good hand in embarrassment. “Is that because you’ve ordered them to think that?”

“Oh yes, my brain washing techniques are world class,” Bill laughed.

They say back to relax and eat, taking their time. Bill drove them back a couple of hours later, with Allie dosing in the front seat.

They enjoyed another peaceful few days before a sudden arrival threw everything into chaos. It was just after lunch, Allie had gone upstairs to lie down for a short while, when the sound of hooves clattered into the farm-yard. At first she thought of horses, but then heard the braying of donkeys.

‘That can’t be the children back already,’ she thought to herself, and glanced out of the hall window as she made her way to the stairs. She could see David, dismounting from his donkey, and five others gathering around him, sides heaving from their brisk trotting, Mrs Evans and Bill moving to intercept him. She held her arm in its sling tighter to herself as she hurried downstairs and burst out the front door, into the clamouring noise of Mrs Evans, Bill, and the donkeys all shouting at once.

“Where are the children?” she demanded.

The story continues in chapter 5

Last time Bill, Allie and the children arrived in Wales to stay with the Evans on their farm.

Chapter 3

The next day, there was a nasty shock for Bill and Allie, especially Allie. She was in the barn with Mrs Evans when the barn door slammed on her hand. Bill hadn’t been present, he had been on the other side of the farm. He rushed over when he heard her scream. She was very white and cradling her hand against her chest.

“It was the barn door,” Mrs Evans said, almost as white as Allie. “It mustn’t have been secured properly, and it’s blown shut in the wind, right on her hand, look you!”

Bill managed to convince a very shocked and pain filled Allie to allow him to gently examine her hand and announced that he would have to take her to the hospital at Merthyr Tydfil and get an x-ray done.

Soon, they were in the car, Bill driving as quickly as he dared as Allie sat in the passenger seat in pain, her arm strapped against her chest in Bill’s best first aid attempts.

Bill had studied maps of the area before they arrived, and so he knew the rough location of the hospital; it was to the south-east of Cyfarthfa Castle. With that in his mind it wasn’t too difficult for him to find the rambling red-bricked hospital and soon he was helping Allie out of the car and through the entrance to the accident and emergency room, the carved décor above the door bearing the date 1895.

After Allie had been examined, and an x-ray taken, they waited around a while before the doctor called them back in. They watched him hold the x-ray to the light to examine it, though neither knew enough to know what he was looking at. “You did the right thing, bringing your wife in to see us, Mr Mannering. She’s broken a small bone just here,” he explained, pointing to a spot on the x-ray.

Bill, looking sheepish, glanced at Allie and said, “Mrs Mannering is not my wife, Doctor. We’re good friends,” he corrected.

“I do apologise,” the doctor said. “I just assumed because… well, never mind. I’ll have a nurse bandage up that hand, with a sling to support it, and then you must rest it, Mrs Mannering. We don’t want you to aggravate the break else it won’t heal. I’d advise you to come back in two or three days for another x-ray, perhaps your, ah, friend, could bring you again?”

Bill and Allie locked eyes. “We will arrange it,” Bill said after half a second. “Let’s get that hand seen to Mrs Mannering,” he added, taking on a persona to guard against the doctor’s attitude.

Allie accepted his use of her last name without question and nodded her agreement. Presently a nurse came through, bringing rolls of bandages and a sling with her, and within a few minutes Allie’s hand was neatly bandaged and supported against her chest.

“Now, you will remember to have your husband bring you back in a few days?” the nurse asked in her sing-song voice, just as they were leaving. Bill decided not to make a correction this time and simply agreed before leading Allie out to the car.

Allie sank gratefully into the passenger seat. “Thank you, Bill,” she said tiredly. “But wasn’t that doctor a bit off when you said that we weren’t married?”

“He was wise to have shut up when he did, else I might have done something I’d regret,” Bill said as he put the car into gear and eased out of the parking space.

“Would it be so bad if we were married?” Allie joked weakly. They had only moved to a romantic relationship recently, but she had caught herself wondering how things would go.

“No, of course not, that’s not what I meant at all,” Bill reassured her hurriedly. “It just seemed to me as if he was about to hint about some sort of impropriety and I wasn’t going to have it!”

“My hero,” Allie said, a bit dopey from the painkillers she had been given. She dozed off a bit even though the journey was short.

Back at the farm the children were upset at the news that Allie couldn’t join them on their donkey trek, and she tried to insist that Bill go along without her but he wouldn’t hear of it. Even the children agreed that he ought to stay behind, despite them wishing he could go.

The children were advised to go to bed early, as they had a long ride the next day, and Allie said she would probably go not long after as she was tired from her stressful day. “You know, I really could manage without you for a few days,” she said to Bill once they were alone in the cosy sitting-room. “My hand feels fine now, truly it does.”

Bill raised an eyebrow at her as he puffed on his pipe. “Now Allie, that is a silly thing to say,” he said levelly. “You will need me to here to help you fetch and carry things,” he added with a wink.

“As much as that would be nice, I don’t need it,” she said. “Mrs Evans does all the cooking and cleaning so I don’t need much else. I can just enjoy the peace and read a book.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me, Allie?”

“No, of course not,” Allie said, wondering why she always seemed to say the wrong thing around Bill. “I just know the children would love you to go along and I don’t want to spoil everyone’s holiday just because of my silly hand.”

“They are old enough to go off on their own,” Bill said in a much more jovial voice than he felt. He would have loved to have gone with the kids but he felt he needed to be around for taking Allie to the hospital and any other little jobs she needed doing. He didn’t want her to put any strain on her hand as she needed to get better and he wanted her to relax as much as possible.

“I know they are. But they enjoy spending time with you!” she tried.

“Allie, this is as much a holiday for you and I as it is the children. I can always follow them after I’ve taken you to the doctors in the middle of the week, if you are on the mend,” Bill said firmly.

“All right.” Allie gave in gracefully, she could tell that Bill’s mind was made up. “Just as long as you don’t fuss around me all week. You know I can’t stand fussing.”

He held up both hands with a smile, pipe in his teeth. “I promise not to fuss!” he said around it.

He removed the pipe and sat back in his chair. “The children will enjoy themselves, and to top it all off, who’s going to save us all if we all get into an adventure this time?” Bill added teasingly.

“You said it yourself, nobody is going to find an adventure in this middle-of-nowhere place,” Allie replied. “And you had better be right, as if there’s anything I hate more than fussing it’s my children falling into adventures!”

The story continues in chapter 4

Last week the new Cunningham and Petrov story went live with chapter one, where Bill pops in to see Anatoly on his way out of work for his nice, quiet Welsh holiday.

Chapter 2

After the long drive to Wales, a huge meal and the children finally out and exploring the farm before bed, Bill sat back in his chair, his arm resting on the back of Allie’s chair as he puffed on his pipe. “What are the bets that Philip comes back with a farm animal as a new friend?” he asked Allie with a twinkle in his eye.

“I certainly won’t bet against that,” she laughed. “I know I’ll lose. The question is, which animal will he come back with? I know Mrs Evans doesn’t mind the hens roaming the house but she might draw the line at a cow!”

“Or a pig,” Bill chortled. “Shall we take a stroll Allie?”

Allie stifled a yawn. She was tired from the long journey, but a gentle stroll to stretch her legs would probably do her good. “Yes, all right. Let’s go before I fall asleep right where I sit!”

Bill nodded, stood and helped her up. He wedged his pipe in his mouth. They strolled out of the kitchen and into the farm yard. “It’s so peaceful around here,” Allie said with a smile.

“Well, it is when the children are at a safe distance,” he chuckled, taking her hand and tucking her arm into his free one. “Have I told you lately that you’re a saint for taking them all on at once?”

She blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t have much choice, Bill,” she said gently. “I couldn’t leave Lucy-Ann and Jack in the situation they were in. It wasn’t fair.”

“No, it sounds like they were pretty miserable,” Bill agreed. “But still, you didn’t have to double your workload and take them on, too. A lot of married couples wouldn’t do what you did.”

She shrugged. “I’m just a kind person,” she said with a slight smile. “And it was good for Dinah and Philip.”

“You’re not just kind,” he corrected her. “You’re simply wonderful.” He smiled as she yawned again. “Maybe we’ve done enough for one day, let’s get you up to bed. Your bed. You’re next door to me, I believe.” He stopped, aware he had let himself get flustered after inadvertently saying what could have been construed as an inappropriate remark.

Allie smiled at his embarrassment. “I am, it will be nice to know you are close by for a change,” she said quietly, giving his arm a squeeze to let him know that he was alright and she hadn’t taken any offence.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you if Philip’s cow decides to start wandering in the night,” he grinned.

As it turned out, Philip had adopted a baby goat, and not a cow, but as Bill said goodnight to Allie at her bedroom door, he said the offer of protection still stood. “You just give a shout and I’ll come fend off any manner of farmyard beasts for you.”

She laughed a little, “You won’t like it if I shout at 3am!”she smiled, looked around and kissed his cheek before heading towards her room and closing the door.

Bill watched until she closed her door then turned to enter his room. He knew he would get up at any time of night no matter what. If Allie needed him then he’d be there.

The next day was rather relaxed. Allie and Bill went for a walk while the children went to see Trevor and the donkeys. They walked up the mountain a short way and then turned around to head back down to the farm and their dinner.

They both found the fresh mountain air refreshing and invigorating, allowing them both to relax. Even the children seemed easier to deal with then there were acres of space for them to explore; they were always at their worst when cooped up.

The arrival of the donkeys had everyone excited, although Allie viewed them with more trepidation than anyone else, even quiet Lucy-Ann. She was touched when Bill rode alongside her that first day, solicitously making sure that she was all right the whole time. There had been nothing he could do to stop her being stiff and sore the next day, however.

She soon got used to the donkeys, and they had several pleasant rides into the mountains through the first week of their holiday, carefree days where they rode where they wanted, stopped to picnic and then rode on past the beautiful scenery that seemed to fill every inch of their visions.

Allie wasn’t quite as thrilled as the others about the idea of camping – she was thoroughly enjoying the comforts of the farmhouse and Mrs Evans’ cooking – but she would never have considered not going. She knew how much the children wanted her and Bill to come along, and she knew it would be fun. Her husband had loved being in the wild, he had been every bit as obsessed with birds and animals as Philip was, and so it wasn’t as if she wasn’t used to camping, although it had been a long time since she had done it.

Bill was looking at her a little concernedly while they were talking about camping, hoping she would be all right. Allie always seemed to take challenges on the chin but he knew how much more comfortable she was in the farm house.

“You know,” he said as they wandered the farm yard, trying to work off at least a little of their enormous dinner. “The children could very much take themselves off for a few days, camping and leave us here. I very much doubt that even they could get mixed up in anything out here.”

“No, even they couldn’t find trouble in a place like this,” she agreed. “But no, I can’t let them go off anyway. It would disappoint them so if we weren’t to join them. And I see so little of them during term-time it would be a shame to miss out on spending time with them in the holidays.

Laughing, Bill held his hands up in defeat. “If you want to go, then of course, we’ll go.”

The story continues in chapter 3